AEW: Bryan Danielsonon Working for Tony Khan Being “Really Refreshing”, Tony Khan on Mariah May & Toni Storm Storyline Being Some of AEW’s Best Work, More News

Aug 8, 2024

Bryan Danielson Comments on Working for Tony Khan Being “Really Refreshing”

A recent episode of the Gorilla Position podcast featured Bryan Danielson as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Danielson’s thoughts about how working for Tony Khan in AEW has been really refreshing for his wrestling career.

“To me, it’s been kind of refreshing, a little bit. He comes with so many new ideas and ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of. But also, he’s a real student of wrestling, as far as like, he studies past wrestling and all that kind of stuff. So it’s been a lot of fun. The one thing that’s hard is that Tony is super kind. He’s a super kind human being. And like, I haven’t had a boss like that [laughs]. I had a great relationship with Vince, you know? And I had a great relationship with Hunter. And when I was in Ring of Honor, I had a great relationship with Gabe Sapolsky. None of them were particularly kind, you know what I mean? In the sense of like treating everyone nicely, like all that kind of stuff. That’s been really refreshing, that sort of thing. So, yeah, it’s been fun. It’s just been interesting. And it’s just been different.

Danielson also gave his thoughts about if he has had any second thoughts about joining AEW after seeing how things have changed for the better in WWE since he left.

“No, not at all. No. I think how I view it is, obviously things have changed for the better there, substantially. How I view it is, one, I’ve had an incredible time doing what I’m doing. There are a lot of people who, and I think I’m one of these people, who prefer the style in AEW. That’s more wrestling focused as opposed to the drama focus. I like the idea that there is an alternative. When I put thought into what I wanted to do as far as leaving WWE, I was never somebody who disliked WWE. I’ve tried not say anything bad about WWE because I really enjoyed my time there and I enjoyed the people that I worked with. People that are there are still my friends. One of the things that I really wanted was to participate in this thing that makes the wrestling industry better for everybody involved. Having AEW, just the fact that AEW exists, is much better for all of us. I’m also preferential to the style. I like the style a little bit more.”

Transcript h/t: F4WOnline.com, Fightful.com

Tony Khan on Mariah May & Toni Storm Storyline Being “Some Of The Best Work We’ve Ever Done In AEW”

A recent episode of the Q101’s Brian & Kenzie Morning Show featured AEW CEO Tony Khan as the guest. One of the topics discussed included Khan’s thoughts about the Mariah May and “Timeless” Toni Storm storyline being some of the best work ever done in AEW.

“A good example of somebody who came into AEW and did something very different, kept the same name, but we didn’t see ‘The Glamour’ Mariah May. Mariah came in with a completely different presentation, and that was something that I really believed in from the beginning when we put together this vision for ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm, that she would take on a protege, I thought Mariah would be the perfect person to introduce somebody new, and yes, very established, well-known in the world of professional wrestling, one of the top young talents, Mariah May. I think it was really great to bring her in as a new character because clearly it was leading somewhere, there was a big pay-off here. There’s times when you’re really gonna build to something, and I think the things we’ve been doing with Toni and Mariah recently on AEW television, probably some of the best work we’ve ever done, and I think it’s really exciting. It’s gonna culminate in this huge match, ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm versus Mariah May at Wembley Stadium.”

Later in the show, Khan was asked about the May and Storm storyline again and reiterated that it was has been some of the most exciting work they have ever done in AEW.

“There’s been great stories we’ve told, and now we’re telling really great stories. I mentioned ‘Timeless’ Toni Storm and Mariah May. Both of them have come in during this time, and what we’re doing with them is some of the best storytelling and some of the most exciting work we’ve ever done in AEW.”

Transcript h/t: Fightful.com

AEW News & Notes

Following Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite show in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, AEW released a digital exclusive backstage video featuring Hangman Adam Page attacking Jeff Jarrett and Mariah May brawling with “Timeless” Toni Storm.

AEW recently announced that they will be holding a new AEW Collision show on October 3rd at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.

PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that Britt Baker will be making an appearance in the second half of season six of Netflix’s Cobra Kai television series. Baker will be appearing on one of the teams competing in the “Sekai Taikai” international karate tournament on the show.

As noted before, a plagiarism lawsuit against WWE and AEW was dismissed without prejudice this past November and an amended lawsuit was filed this past February by a man named Anthony Wilson. PWInsider’s Mike Johnson reported that AEW’s attorneys recently filed a motion before The United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio, Youngstown requesting for the lawsuit against them to be dismissed despite Wilson’s attempts to have it paused while he is incarcerated.

As noted before, Kota Ibushi was recently announced to be competing for DDT Pro Wrestling at their August 25th event in Tokyo, Japan. Ibushi recently reflected on Twitter stating that he got permission from AEW to work at DDT’s upcoming event. Ibushi stated “Ahhhhhh!! It’s been about 8 years. It feels nostalgic yet new. Akito-kun, Dino-san. I only have memories of both of them. And I never thought I would cross paths with Endo, who I had entrusted to him. I’ve got permission from AEW, so everything’s fine. Oh, young wrestlers, please be gentle with me. I think I’ll go at full power. Did he pick up the microphone at that time? Was it a coincidence? Was it inevitable?“

As noted before, Ruby Soho has been absent from AEW since this past April due to her and Angelo Parker currently expecting the birth of their first child. Soho provided an update on Wednesday on Twitter revealing that her first child will be a girl. Soho stated “In celebration of the first day of my last trimester…. We wanted to announce that the newest little “pain in the ASS” addition to the Parker family….is a GIRL! She will be joining us in October and we can’t wait to meet her!“

As noted before, the July 17th AEW Dynamite 250 show in Little Rock, Arkansas featured MJF defeating Will Ospreay to become the new AEW International Champion. This match was notable for a little girl getting involved in the match and helped Ospreay by beating up MJF in the crowd. In a recent interview with Military News, Dax Harwood gave his thoughts about his reaction to that moment and how he told Tony Khan that they needed to make the clip of it go viral to benefit AEW. Harwood stated “My favorite unpredictable moment was and I immediately texted Tony (Khan the owner of AEW) and I texted our social media team when I saw it and said, we need to make this clip go viral. It was recently with the match of MJF and Will Ospreay. They fought in the crowd and Will held MJF’s arms back and a little 11 year old girl punched MJF right in his chest. Things like that is what defines AEW because that’s the alternative that we offer. That’s not something that I think you will see in other companies.“

In a recent interview with the Daily Star, Mariah May gave her thoughts about what lessons she had learned during her time in the indies have helped her in AEW. May stated “I’m not sure it’s relevant to AEW but the biggest lesson I learnt was how to live poor. It was tough. I think the big thing is etiquette. From day one in the indies I learned to introduce myself (yourself) to everyone. I think sometimes on the indies that feels silly, because everyone has different opinions on that – whether you should or shouldn’t do it. It pays dividends though when you go to somewhere like AEW or a Stardom or any kind of larger company because it just shows you respect the business and care about it, like in any job you should introduce yourself to anybody. So just drilling in the etiquette. However you also learn if you really love wrestling from the independents because you get paid nothing to do it. You have to also work normal jobs, to pay for your life and put a roof over your head but also to pay for your training, your costumes, to be able to be in indie wrestling. It’s an investment. There’s no profit, at least that was the case in my few years of doing it. So I think you get tested on if you really love it. It’s a lot of driving, training, it may not be the best quality matches or opponents or venues, small crowds but that’s when you figure out if you love it and you make so many mistakes which you’ll never repeat again. So I’m very grateful I did the indies, I won’t make those mistakes again.“

AEW recently announced the full card for this Friday’s AEW Rampage show: